The first group stage of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 came to an end on Thursday with all 16 teams completing their three matches. This first phase of the tournament saw the top two teams from each group advance to the second round to fight for a place in the semifinals.
As per the new format, these eight teams have been divided into two groups of four. At the end of the round-robin stage — the teams from the same first group-stage pool will not face each other — the top two teams will advance to the last four stage.
Here’s how the two pools look like ahead of the second round fixtures:
Pool E
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored | Goals against | Goal difference | Points |
| England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
Fixtures list
Pool E
Saturday, August 22
7:30 PM — Netherlands vs India
10:30 PM — England vs Argentina
Monday, August 24
6:15 PM — Argentina vs India
9:30 PM — Netherlands vs England
Pool F
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored | Goals against | Goal difference | Points |
| Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Fixtures list
Pool F
Friday, August 21
8:30 PM — Germany vs Spain
Saturday, August 22
12:00 AM — Australia vs Belgium
Sunday, August 23
9:00 PM — Germany vs Australia
Monday, August 24
12:00 AM — Spain vs Belgium
The classification breakdown
While the above eight teams will vie for the spots in the semifinals of the World Cup, there are two more groups which have been formed to decide the classification berths.
The third and fourth-placed teams from the groups in the first phase of competition have been sorted into two groups of four. The ranking in these groups will decide which teams will face each other in the nine to 16 classification matches.
Here’s how these two pools look like ahead of the second round fixtures:
Pool G
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored | Goals against | Goal difference | Points |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Wales | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
Fixtures list
Pool G
Saturday, August 22
1:30 PM — New Zealand vs Wales
4:30 PM — Pakistan vs Japan
Monday, August 24
1:00 PM — Japan vs Wales
4:00 PM — New Zealand vs Pakistan
Pool H
| Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals scored | Goals against | Goal difference | Points |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| France | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 |
Fixtures list
Pool H
August 21
2:30 PM — France vs South Africa
5:30 PM — Ireland vs Malaysia
August 23
3:00 PM — Malaysia vs South Africa
6:00 PM — France vs Ireland
Published on Aug 21, 2026
